The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild receives the GOTY at The Game Awards

The Game Awards 2017 was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 7th. This awards, previously known as Spike Video Game Awards established in 2003, is a video game awards that selects the winner based on the worldwide media poll and internet votes.

There were 29 categories to select the best games this year. The most viral Game of the Year (GOTY) was gone to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Meanwhile, PUBG Corporation’s PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG), the nominee in three categories - Game of the Year, Best Ongoing Game, and Best Multiplayer - introduced the new map and its official launch date.

The Game Awards 2017

Best Score/Music - NieR: Automata

by Platinum Games

The story of previous titles without any hope and dream which only worked for manias became the beloved game after a slight adjustment. The game depicts the story of an android soldier created by the mankind after the race was expelled by machines. The setting that continues from the previous title made the plot much more abundant, along with the outstanding music.

Best Narrative - What Remains of Edith Finch

by Giant Sparrow

What Remains of Edith Finch, developed by Giant Sparrow, is an adventure game with the story of members of the Finch family who are believed to be cursed. The neat UI, screen set, and directing based on the high-quality plot lead the game to win the prize.

Best Action Game - Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

by Machine Games

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, the latest title of Wolfenstein franchise, has claimed the Best Action Game award. Developed by Machine Games and published by Bethesda Softworks, the game is an FPS based on fallen America by Nazis, and was released on October 27th.

It inherited the features of the previous title and had additional play aspects. The music was directed by Michael Gordon and Martin Stig Anderson. Machine Games developed the game as a single player, focusing the most on storytelling with sensitive topics such as Nazi, Holocaust, racism, white supremacy, domestic violence, and terrorism.

Best Ard Direction - Cuphead

by Studio MDHR

Studio MDHR’s side-view action adventure Cuphead received the Best Art Direction award. The game did a formidable job of realizing the 20th-century animation style, and everything in the game was done by manual hand drawing and scanning. The various jazz and rag music also made a lively and fitting atmosphere.

Cuphead also won the Best Debut Indie Game award.

Best Role Playing Game - Persona 5

by Atlas

The latest title of Persona franchise became the Best Role Playing Game. All features of the game including the UI, system, game design, and story received good ratings. The number of copies sold worldwide is 2 million thus far.

Best Strategy Game - Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

by Ubisoft

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the adventure to save the mushroom kingdom with Mario and Rabbids from Ubisoft, was selected as the Best Strategy Game. The gameplay is similar to the Xcom series where players are required to use the cover while playing. Just like how Mario does in his games, he can also go further by stepping on one of the allies.

Best Family Game - Super Mario Odyssey

by Nintendo

Super Mario Odyssey, the 3D Sandbox game that was developed after 15 years of Super Mario Sunshine, received the Best Family Game award.

The game has many features such as nonlinear stages, various actions, and diverse objects that players can use freely. In particular, developers implied the action to deliver the fun just by controlling and made various actions that can be used depending on circumstances.

Most Anticipated Game - The Last of Us Part 2

by Naughty Dog

The Last of Us Part 2, after revealing another teaser trailer recently, has been selected as the Most Anticipated Game. The game is still in progress and is dealing with the story of Joel and Ellie, protagonists of the previous title, and the main story will have conflicts and cooperation with other people.

Best Ongoing Game - Overwatch

Overwatch, after the Game of the Year at The Game Award 2016, claimed the newly established award this year. Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer hyper FPS. The related personnel gave a speech that they would like to grow together with the community and earned many praises.

Best eSports Player - Sanghyeok “Faker” Lee

Sanghyuk “Faker” Lee achieved the honor of being named the best eSports player at The Game Awards. On December 7th, Faker competed for the best eSports player with ryujehong, Kuro Salehi Takhasomi, Nikola Kovac, and Marcelo David, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Faker, born in 1996, took the position of a mid laner as a League of Legends pro gamer at SK Telecom T1. He claimed victory at the LCK Spring Split and Mid Season Invitational 2017 and was placed second at Rift Rivals, the LCK Summer Split, and the World Championship. Meanwhile, Cloud9 has been nominated as the best eSports team.

Games for Impact - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

by Ninja Theory

Ninja Theory, the company that developed Devil May Cry, came up with the new IP and proceeded with development and publishing all by themselves. The game depicts the story of Senua venturing for the salvation of her dead lover. Senuna, the Celts goddess from the North Eastern mythology, was the motif of the main protagonist in the game.

Senua suffers from schizophrenia and constantly experiences an auditory and visual hallucination. The game leads a player to solve the puzzle with delusion and hallucination, and this directing was designed based on real schizophrenic’s statements. The game tried to imply message “anyone can shine anytime.” Hellblade also won the Best Performance with Melina Juergens.

Best Mobile Game - Monument Valley 2

by ustwo games

Monument Valley 2 shares the same setting with the previous title and depicts the adventure of the mother and daughter. Puzzles became more diverse and the game emphasized on the beautiful storytelling. In particular, the game tried to express the emotion only with character’s movement and the change in an environment, and the lingering feeling from it lead the game to a great success.

Best VR/AR Game - Resident Evil 7 Biohazardby Capcom

The honor of the Best VR Game went to Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. The 7th official title of the series changed the view from 3rd to 1st perspective, and the game focused more on the original horror and represented the new direction of the franchise.

The decision on what item and when to use became crucial and puzzles that maximize the horror in a closed mansion are located from place to place in the game.

Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

by Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with the biggest open world in the series of The Legend of Zelda, won the Game of the Year. Moreover, the game claimed the Best Game Direction, acknowledging as the best game in the year of 2017.

With the adventure, discovery, and creation as key attributes, this game proposed a new milestone of the open world playstyle, and also improved the combat style and actions significantly. The game is praised for the design that a player can literally perform any actions with anything on the land. According to Metacritic, 70 medias gave 100 points to the game.